With the sun climbing above the eastern horizon, and seeming to melt the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the first speckled trout of the day cleared the gunwale of Arthur Borchgrevink's 22-foot Ranger bay boat. It dislodged the hook on the way in, bounced off the back deck and wriggled back into the salty, pitching lake.

"Oh well, I guess it's good luck to sacrifice the first one to the fish gods," Borchgrevink said.

It apparently was.

With a northeast wind blowing much harder than the forecast, Borchgrevink's bow was regularly serving as a wave collector, and his anchor held bottom like it was made of cardboard.

Every time he and buddy Steve Walk got on a decent bite, the anchor would pull free, and they'd have to reposition and try to anchor again. Mostly futilely.

Little did they know that the fish gods, in overwhelming gratitude for the first-fish sacrifice, were intentionally foiling their attempts to fish the artificial reefs so they'd go where the mother lode of fish was holding.

There are still so many shrimp in Lake Pontchartrain right now that many of the fish are coming up with whiskers hanging out of their mouths. Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Borchgrevink finally had enough of trying to hold his position, and digitally instructed his big-screen GPS to guide him to a shell pad farther west.

He was playing right into the fish gods' hands. They knew he'd never make it that far.

The anglers continued on, until Walk became more animated in pointing them out. This time, the tornado of seagulls was unmistakable, and without hesitation, Borchgrevink turned his steering wheel toward the frenzy.

If you want a good spot on the artificial reefs west of the Causeway, you'd better get there early. Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Borchgrevink, a 35-year veteran of fishing Lake Pontchartrain, knew what he was in for. He spent three days last week fishing the artificial reefs, and put ridiculously easy limits of beautiful trout in the boat each day.

He motored to the northeast of the action to allow the wind to push him into it, and he and Walk got to work.

Their first two or three casts were fruitless because Borchgrevink had stopped so far away from the birds.

"Sometimes the birds are so thick and so aggressive, they don't even care you're there," he said. "Other times, it's easy to spook them."

Avid Lake Pontchartrain angler Arthur Borchgrevink has been catching some healthy-sized school trout on the reefs and under the birds. Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

This was apparently one of the former times.

Walk set the hook, and half a heartbeat later, Borchgrevink did as well. From then on, the action was non-stop, and the fish -- both speckled trout and white trout -- were far bigger than anglers find under most birds anywhere. Several measured 19 inches, and two even hit the 20-inch mark.

"There's so many shrimp and so many fish in the lake right now, I've never seen anything like it," Borchgrevink said. "You catch the trout, and the feelers of the shrimp are just sticking out of their mouths."

Most of the birds have been feasting west of the Causeway toward the south shore of the lake. Friday morning's action was four miles off the south shore between Transcontinental and Williams.

Motorist Josh Lincoln, however, reported at 4 p.m. that the birds were diving in an immense flock just 200 yards west of the Causeway.

Clearly, the area is loaded with speckled trout, and should be for a while.

"It should last until January," Borchgrevink said. "The water's still warm right now."

Water temperatures in recent weeks have stayed in the 60s, with a few nighttime dips into the upper 50s. That's not cold enough to quench the bite.

"If we get a real hard front, it'll shut them down or run them out," Borchgrevink said.

Although Borchgrevink has been catching some of his fish under birds, the 68-year-old Metairie resident's favorite place to fish this time of year is the series of artificial reefs that the state planted a decade ago west of the Causeway.

Limits have been easy to come by for Arthur Borchgrevink, right, and his fishing buddy Steve Walk. Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

"We've caught a lot of fish on those reefs over the years," he said. "The live-bait fishermen are killing them there right now."

This time of year, Borchgrevink opts for Matrix Shads (lemonhead in stained water or shrimp creole in clear water), but earlier in the season, he'll go with live shrimp on either a Carolina rig or under a sliding cork. He constructs his Carolina rigs with 1/2-ounce egg sinkers, 2 1/2-foot leaders and No. 6 treble hooks.

The artificial reefs used to be marked by buoys, but Katrina or one of the other wicked witches that roared through Southeast Louisiana ripped them out, so anglers have to have the GPS coordinates to find them.

The first thing Borchgrevink does when he gets to a reef is drop a marker buoy on top of it. He'll then troll away, and cast back toward the buoy.

Lake Pontchartrain speckled troutVeteran Lake Pontchartrain angler Arthur Borchgrevink shows how easy it is to catch speckled trout just west of the Causeway right now.

"I try to pull from the top of the reef down the hill," he said. "But sometimes the trout want it going up the hill. You've just got to troll around and cast, and find out how they want it."

The hotspots are constructed of concrete reef balls that look like giant whiffle balls sliced in half. Now the reefs are also made up of dozens, if not hundreds, of anchors.

If you don't want to lose yours, leave the anchor in its storage compartment. If the winds are too strong to use your trolling motor, be sure to anchor well away from the reef and allow the wind to push you within casting distance of it.

Borchgrevink said the reefs are close enough to shore that he can fish them in a 15-m.p.h. south or southeast wind. A north wind of that strength, however, makes them unfishable.

The reefs definitely draw crowds on the weekends, so plan to get there early. If you can't get a spot on a reef or the crowds drive you insane, you can also fish the Causeway or head west to the towers, the mouth of the Parish Line Canal (on a falling tide) or the Compressor Rig off of Williams Boulevard. All have been hot lately, Borchgrevink said.

Or, of course, you could just look for the birds that have been flocking and feasting every day for the past month or so. That's never a bad strategy.